Mercury manometer



INVENTORS JOHN V HART CARLE LAKJER I ATTORNEY MERCURY MANOMETER Filed Nov. 6

Patented Oct. 13, 1953 2,655,045 M R U'BY NO ET B Joh V- Iiarti fleve t a r Earl E- Lekier.

'Ph lede r'h e. e- .ments, t 69 9mm. Dela a e n apoh e et hyme he eee'ish -li h yw Re u tor Mi n a,

Application November 94 eer e! 58MB 3 Qlgigns. 01. 73-401) This invention relates o e gees .ier Qi h Rfihg pressure.

t is an object of thi JQWQQQ?! he rov d manom t r or u-shahed e ehse ec c ndu t etns a lon vertica -exten ing slee 'thb' 'ih whi h vels a f ee htfe e o t e m reh y- Th tube may be provided on its front rear with a s ries f ched lines wh eh $25 23 i eh he ri of hor zontally aligned sense mar e- It is a furt r ob ec of thi ih ehi eh to emvide a fleet on the .ir P the me cury wi n h ube. Th ee prefe ehly is e .e her of ui le s ze so that the m rcu eeh e he pherical fleet nh trib phi e PI WQT with inne well o t e tube.-

Y t a ot er .ebieet 2 this heyehiieh i 1 P29- de a cabinet o h h iheih which heihehehiete including its lon tribe s eemh ie ehe sed- This abinet as i it front ntiee es errew e i al it a al to th tu e e d th ielish wh ch the t b is is le W n th ee he and be ind t tube i sheet or .e hhd -se ese- A long fl es e e eeirie li ht i mount d in the cabinet behind a baifle wall w on prevents the d ct ra of li h rom-the amps-the Pes i in a s ra h l ne vto the t be erz eih elet- In t ad hi beflle vwell caus th ight om the lamp to be r f ec ed :frern t e .ihhe iehrieee ef he cabinet h ugh th ;sr ihd elae ;:she t ehd hro h o r nd t .elee thbe en the rise travelling therein.

T e e ou feeture fno elty-whieheheteet rize this invent on a p ihtedehtw thh r tiou i y i h claim annexed h en .Ie e a p rt of this spe fication- Fo a etter u derstanding of the inve tion, however ts ed iaht ees and specific obiectso tained wi h its use refere ce should -:be had to the se eem ehx he drawings and descriptive matteriin which-is il ustrated and described a :preferred embodiment of the invention.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a frontieleyation.

Figure 2 is asideeleizatlon.

Fi ures .l and 2 have been cutvhor zonte 1 9 pe mit illustration on .an increa ed scal ..94.1 have the outer w lls of thehousing .bI-Okemaway to e pose the ihh spartsiahd .h iieenartsshewh invertical crosssectio W Fi ure 3 is a hor zonta :eros sseet en-oh line 3-3 of i u es 1 and? yiewedinthedire tion-of the arrows.

Figure 4 i5 3' mmfi fi e i :91 4 i mfi i fid scale of a portion of the tube and float-with partsin verticalcrossseetign.

Fi ure 5 is e which e css t n h ou theht ne throhsh which the ressure is pp e A fi x hle t he'l qv 'de vhil e s by w h e r se tle' e meets ed e be l e to n end of'the U: hlaped manometer conduit. At its inner end, e1 communicates with a hollow fitting '2, {Fitting 2 i shwn in greater detail in Fig. 5 wherein seen that the fitting 2 ha s v r herre open n 3 threueh it so that f tting 2 forms a bafile or narrow cross section th y preven heeeeepe of m rcu y om th h e ehr fier when the res u te' m u is cutoff. Fi t n 2 m unte in the te o a h ow cylindrical tank 4 whichj :3; la ge cross section so asto' forrn a reserv for-the mercury 5 which forms the measuring liquid 'of" the manometer. Piping ,6 communicates with a harref'l which in turn communicates with the bottom end of a long glass tube 8 'in Twhichtheother free surface of ,the' meiq ury travels to provide an indication of thejioressure to ,be ineasuredl lligurerishows that tube 8 has on its front and rear-etched lines or markings 3. By yiewing'ltlie corresponding front and rear markings iiiirtjhgld the transparent walls of tube 8 horizontally aligned gauge markings are proyided. i r v ide s an accurate reading .enip ev e i ri r dh e e e e on the ire u aoes of the mercur Within tube 8 is a float in. Float if! may conveniently be a st el h ll wh ehh e been lt eete i 6 have a bl e hi ehrte The dim heiehe Q th inner diamete of :tuhei en o the di mete of fl 9 er veheh he the betwe th m c r en he well h re ihhle end 0 t e fleet en h erehry e se an u w d the c hes on P .t.., pro e n or m n eehee th lh eu the s ap .of "a ring which centersthe float 10 out of con.- ta-ct with the inner. wallsof the. tube 8.

The upper end .of tube Bis received by a second hollow barrel M which in .turn communicates with a T or pipentting {2 to which is connected a second -fixibleituloe" t3 whose opposite end is parallel tothe end of flegibletube I.

W :hel n if s' f ided h Whih he other he 9 .iheme ef e eeh s d end s p orte T hous ng ,Olfifihjbififilhilihi? p o e e a rear andside portiQh 1.4 which is attached a Ch there is a narrow,

ii ent plateIL5 hr0 eh w Slot 16 extends ert cal -ext din nsletji's. par l l to ehdedieeeh thhefi so t h tube?! is ible throu h t. j ljhe narrow width of slot b tween tii 8 -en t ro r 1 ate rehee ion of eu e l h from the surface of tube 8. Slot It may be closed by a plate of transparent plastic l1.

Behind and adjacent tube 8 there is mounted in housing It a ground glass l8 formed by a vertically-extending sheet behind and adjacent tube 8. Ground glass [8 is ground on one side with a fine even grain. The top and bottom edges of ground glass 18 are covered with a strip of opaque tape I9 to exclude light from entering the ends of the ground glass sheet.

Within housing Hi there is provided a bafiie wall 20 of opaque material. Also within housing I4 is mounted a tubular, fluorescent electric lamp 2| which serves as a light source. Fluorescent light 2! is mounted in suitable sockets and is connected by wires with a starter, a ballast or transformer and a manually-operable switch so that lamp 2| can be operated from the ordinary commercial 110 volt A. C. circuit.

Because of baflle wall 20, the light from lamp 2| can not pass directly to slot I6 nor to tube 8. Instead the inner surfaces of the housing 14 are painted with a suitable reflecting paint. Gray has been found to be a satisfactory color. Light is thus reflected from lamp 2! through ground glass l8 where it gives a soft diffused light which permits accurate observation of the relative location of the top of the mercury column and the aligned front and rear gauge marks 9. Or as shown, the diffused light from the ground glass l8 permits accurate observation of the top or other edge of float l and the corresponding front and rear markings 9 with which it is aligned.

Housing I4 is mounted on three legs. The back leg 22 is fixed to the housing [4 as by welding.

The two front legs 23 have screw threaded portions which cooperate with interfitting screw threaded portions of the housing [4. Each of legs 23 has a knurled flange 24 by means of which the leg can be rotated to screw or unscrew the cooperating threads and thereby shorten or lengthen the leg so that the housing l4 may be placed in exact level position.

invention may sometimes be used to advantage without a corresponding use of other features.

As an example, tube 8 may have an internal diameter of 10.4 millimeters and ball an outer diameter of 9.5 mm.

Having now described our invention what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is as follows:

1. A manometer including, a long tube of transparent material forming part of a substantially U-shaped conduit adapted to contain a measuring liquid, inlet and outlet connections to the ends of said conduit for applying the pressure to be .measured to the measuring liquid in the conduit, a cabinet of opaque material totally enclosing said conduit and having a narrow slot through one wall aligned with said tube and through which said tube may be observed, an

' elongated light source in said cabinet parallel to The operation of the manometer of this invention is as follows:

If the pressure to be measured is above atmospheric, it may be applied to tube I. If a sub-amospheric pressure or vacuum is to be measured, it may be applied to tube l3. If a differential pressure is to be measured, the high side is connected to tube l and the low side to tube I3. In any case the free surface of the mercury rises in tube 8. Because the outside surface of tube 8 is shielded by the casing l4 and front plate [5 from the outside surface of tube 8, no reflections are given off from this surface. Likewise, the ground glass 18 gives a soft diffused light against which the upper surface of the mercury column or the outline of the float I0 appears as a sharp black shadow. This permits the upper surface of the mercury column or one edge of the float I0, preferably the top edge, to be read against one horizontally aligned pair of gauge marks 9. This permits an operator to use this gauge all day long for a series of measurements easily, accurately and without any eye strain because there is no glare nor reflections.

While in accordance with the provisions of the statutes, we have illustrated and described the best form of the invention now known to us, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes may be made in the form of the apparatus disclosed without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the appended claims, and that in some cases certain features of the said tube, a bafiie wall of opaque material interposed between said tube and said light source so as to shut off the direct rays of light from said tube and from the slot in said cabinet and to reflect said rays, and a pane of ground glass behind said tube and in the path of travel of the reflected rays of light from said source to the tube and the slot.

2. A mercury column including, a long vertical glass tube, a U-shaped member connected at one end to the bottom of said tube, a reservoir having a large horizontal dimension communicating with the other end of said u-shaped member, a housing enclosing said tube and having a vertically-extending narrow slot opposite said tube through which said tube is visible, a float movable along said tube, mercury in said tube supporting said float on a free surface, a ground glass plate within said housing and behind said tube, and an elongated light source in said housing and shielded so that its rays can not pass directly to said slot or to said tube but are reflected from the inner walls of said housing through said ground glass and through or around said tube and out of said slot.

3. A pressure gauge including, a long vertical glass tube having lines etched on its front and rear surfaces to provide a series of horizontally aligned gauge marks, a hollow barrel communicating with the lower end of said tube, piping extending sidewise from said barrel, a tank communicating with said piping and having a larger cross section than said tube or said barrel or said piping, a supply of mercury in said tube and said barrel and said piping and said tank, said mercury having a free surface in said tube and a free surface in said tank, a fitting forming an inlet connection for pressure and communieating with said tank above the free surface of the mercury in said tank, a baffie in said fitting having a smaller cross section than said tube or said barrel or said piping or said tank and thereby preventing the escape of mercury from said tank when the pressure to be measured is shut off, a steel sphere floating on the free surface of the mercury in said tube, the diameter of said float and the internal diameter of said tube being so proportioned that the adhesion of the mercury to the walls of the tube and of the float and the cohesion of the mercury centers the float in the tube without contact with the walls of the tube, a housing in which the remaining parts of the instrument are mounted, said housing having in its front surface a vertically-extending narrow slot through which said tube can be observed, a vertically-extending sheet of ground glass in said housing behind said tube and aligned with said slot, an elongate fluorescent electric lamp in said housing, and an opaque baffle wall in said hous ing between said electric lamp and said slot and said tube whereby the direct light from the electric lamp is cut 011' from said slot and said tube but is reflected from the inner walls of said housing through said ground glass through or around said tube and the float therein.

JOHN V. HART.

EARL E. LAKJ ER.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Number Number 6 a Name Date Wilkinson July 27, 1915 Sheldon Oct. 19, 1915 Moyer July 6, 1920 Westcott Feb. 8, 1927 Jones July 30, 1929 Ireland June 23, 1931 Kellog Oct. 3, 1939 Winton May 2, 1944 Kliever Sept. 5, 1944 Winton Oct. 19, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain June 7, 1928 Great Britain Aug. 5, 1930 

